Meaning of Meeting
by Dean'sNerdyAngel
Summary: Movieverse, set 10 years before. When a depressed Tony Stark is told that he's going to have a personal assistant, he doesn't exactly jump for joy.
1. Meeting

**Okie dokie. This is the first chapter of a 2 chapter story I'm writing. This is my first Ironman/Marvel related story. It takes place about 10 years before the movies. Its probably AU because I'm not really sure how Tony was before he met Pepper. Its just a quick take on it I did. I hope you like it and I'll get a few reviews, because I have another, much longer story with Avengers that I'm going to post once I finish writing it with a friend.  
**

Tony Stark didn't care about anything. Not anymore. He hasn't given a damn since the day he had gotten the phone call saying that his parents had died tragically in an airplane crash over the Pacific Ocean. He remembers that day to every little detail, to the time he had hung up the phone to taking a break drinking himself to oblivion at dawn the next day.

He remembers the words.

God, the _words. _Words, Tony found, was much more hurtful to him than actions. That was especially true as he toured his way through underground fighting after that phone call. Physical damage was easier to recover from, and covered the broken heart with a Band-Aid, as well, until it bled through as soon as skin no longer tingled.

"_Tony, it's Obediah. It displeases me to finally get in touch with you only to bring bad news. It's your parents, my dear boy. Their plane malfunctioned, and I'm afraid your mother and father didn't make it." _

_Didn't make it. _

He remembered the loneliness he always felt increase by 110%. A deep, suctioned black hole in his heart that seemed to suck up everything he loved, chewed it up nice and rotten, and spit it back out.

6 years. 6 years of working to the top, trying to fill that hole a bit by expanding his father's legacy through himself. Now he was there, doing as much as he could but not feeling it. So he drank, he rebelled, and he smiled and laughed as the cameras caught him in not his finest moments.

Because Tony Stark didn't care about anything.

Which, of course, led to a very displeased Obediah Stane hiring a "personal assistant." Tony knew from the start that this personal assistant would probably be trained to tolerate drunk assholes like him, probably try to knock some responsibility into his brain.

Tony was pissed by that. Pissed not because he thought he could handle himself, that he could control a company to its best interests, for he already knew he really wasn't fit for the job. Not when he had no ideas, no purpose, no "golden egg" to give the company to make them cheer and clap for Tony Stark, the new heir.

He was pissed that now he would have someone "looking" after him. Every night for the past two years, he took a custom made from his own design and put it to his chin in the darkness of his workshop. He'd close his eyes, unhook the safety, and put his finger on the trigger.

But never did press it, because he realized he had to finish one project. An engine or some sort.

It was now the eve before his personal assistant was due to his isolated house off the coast of Malibu. Obediah had promptly refused to give him any details of who he/she was, so that he couldn't use any information he would surely have researched to use against them.

That old man knew him well.

He went to his personal workshop in the basement and tinkered with what he hopes will be a robot to help him work someday. When he got bored with that, he pulled out a bottle of vodka that he stored in a cabinet and began drinking. He found it soothing as he drank and worked, never ceasing, losing track of the time.

Losing track of so much time, he realized that it was dawn. He blinked. He wasn't tired. He had a headache and his stomach churned from nausea . Deciding that since his new assistant would be here soon, he went upstairs and grabbed the folders that held the latest accounting status from a new investment in Beijing. He didn't know much about it, since he hadn't traveled with Obediah in a while.

"_I thought flying had a peculiar effect on you, Tony. That's why you haven't been with me." _

"Peculiar feeling". Yeah, he loved flying. He loved looking out over the world. The fact that his parents died in a plane crash didn't deter that, but Obediah had manipulated everyone into thinking so, probably to keep him out of trouble.

As he hummed and made the calculations to finalize the account report and send it to the company to have the profits invested, he heard the door ring.

This kind of "door bell" echoed throughout the whole house, and made it easier for Tony to hear it just about anywhere. He frowned a little. It was only 8 AM. Who could be at his house? His PA wouldn't be here until noon.

He pressed the button on the intercom. "Yes?"

"I'm Virginia Potts, and I-"

"If you're the press, I'd like you to walk away very quickly."

"No, sir, I'm Tony Stark's newly hired personal assistant. Are you Mr. Stark?"

Tony paused. A womam? Obediah must feel pretty confident about this chick for hiring her. "Come in."

The door locks whirred and clicked, and then finally opened. Tony's eyebrow raised considerably. She was…_beautiful. _Not in that plastic way, either. She was all natural. Ginger hair, green eyes, even some freckles on her cheeks. She was skinny and tall, but her face was set into a perfect authority base.

"Well, if they'd told me you were this pretty, I'd have taken some effort to clean up."

"If they'd told me you were this charming, I'd have taken less time to get ready." She smiled thinly. Untrusting. Calculated.

He cleared his throat. "Well, we might as well start over with our introduction. Tony Stark," he greeted, holding out his hand.

She took the hand and shook it. "Virginia Potts."

"Virginia?" Tony speculated. "You don't look like a Virginia to me."

"Is that so? What do I look like then?"

"Pepper."

"Oh, haven't heard _that _one before."

"Sarcastic, are we?"

"And you aren't?"

"I think we're going to get along."

"You'd like to think so."

"I take that back, then. I know so."

She didn't react. Tony was impressed. Many women end up throwing themselves at him for two only reasons only: looks and money.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Lots of things."

"I'm sure. Anything business related?"

"Uh…" Tony pretended to think about it. "No."

"So, how about those accounting files?" her eyes scanned the folders laying on the clear glass coffee table.

"Oh, right. I finished those, but knock yourself out in seeing what you can do. I need to send them in."

"You have a board meeting this afternoon at 3. You can then."

"I'm not going," Tony said coldly, narrowing his eyes at her, daring her to demand him.

Still, no reaction. The same professional look. "Should I go in your place, Mr. Stark? I'll give you the run down later."

Tony blinked at her in surprise. "Um….yes. Thank you, Ms. Potts."

She took out what Tony guessed to be her planner book and wrote something down. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

* * *

With the board meeting out of the way, Tony set to work once again on his robot. So far, his design was set like it was an extra pair of hands if he needed it to put something in its place. The _design _was done, he just needed to adjust the circuits and wires and then work on his programming. The programming was probably the hardest part, since he needed the robot respond to voice.

Ms. Potts was at the meeting for him. She seemed _okay. _She wasn't trying to push him, to scold him. She was doing her job, and that was all. Tony admired that.

He decided that he'd call her Pepper, too, because Virginia just didn't appeal to him. If she asked about it, he'd just say she was spicy.

Okay, so his humor wasn't the most intellectual jokes.

"Mr. Stark?" _Pepper. _

"Down in the workshop. It's unlocked."

He didn't look up from his planning sheet as she came down the stairs and opened the door. "Mr. Stark, I need to speak with you for a moment, please."

"How about later?"

"How about now?"

"I'm working."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Stark, but-"

"Fine," Tony snapped. "What?"

Pepper's eyes grew dark, and her mouth set into a thin line. "There was a problem with your accounting work."

"What? Of course not. My math is never wrong." he immediately lost interest. It wasn't his problem.

"This time it was. The amount score was off, and the investor will have much more money given to him by Stark Industries than they should."

Tony glared at her, but tore the papers from her hand and scanned them. _Shit, _Tony swore, _she's right. _He looked back to her and saw that she was now patiently waiting for his response. "I made a mistake."

"It's understood, Mr. Stark."

"I'd appreciate it if you could fix it for me, _Pepper." _Tony emphasized the nickname, wanting to see how she'll react.

"Would you like me to double check all reports for you in the future, _Tony?" Pepper asked. _

"_So we're officially past the formal addressing?" _Tony asked and then added, "Yes, that would be good."

"Well, there's no one here to impress, is there?"

Tony smiled at her earnestly. "You mean, other than me?"

"Tony," she began, "since I'm your personal assistant-"

"I like where this is going,"

"I hope you understand that I'm willing to be your friend, and nothing more. You got that?"

"And I hope you understand that it will take all of my willpower to keep it to friendship?"

"I'm sure you'll manage," Pepper told him, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

**I know, I'm not the best writer out there. But I tried and I'll try again with the next chapter, which should likely be posted soon because I'm almost finished. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Intervention

**All right, I lied. I think it's going to be 3 or 4 chapters now. My muse doesn't listen to my promises. This runs down on what's happening with Tony _later. _To the people who reviewed the first chapter: THANK YOU, THANK YOU! C:  
**

**One month later:**

"Mr. Stark?" the voice jerked Tony from his slumber. He blinked groggily. What time was it? What _day _was it?

He raised his arms, suspended in a push up, and saw that he was now in his bedroom. Light drifted through the windows, making his eyes burn painfully. Did he get drunk last night? He felt like it.

"Tony, its, erm, Pepper."

Tony groaned and looked up. Pepper was standing at the doorway, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "You're underdressed," he noted, and glanced at his watch, "and you're early."

"Yes, well, I'm sure you don't remember this," Pepper began, "I came to drop off some documents late last night while I was on my way home, and when I came in, you were on the floor of your workshop, passed out."

"Ugh." _Now _he remembered.

"I was afraid you had alcohol poisoning for a second there."

Tony looked up at her. "You…carried me up here?"

"Half-dragged. You woke up a little and helped me."

"All right, well, thank you." Tony smiled at her. "You can go home to get some rest. I'll give you the day off."

Pepper nodded slowly, and turned to the door. When she was out of sight, Tony sighed and burrowed his head into his pillow. _Dammit. You're an idiot, Stark. You liked her. Now she's going either report it, or worse, quit. _

"Oh, and Tony? Your liquor is hidden until further notice." Pepper's fading voice carried itself to Tony's room.

Tony's eyes popped open, and he scrambled from the bed and out to the hallway. "What?"

"Your liquor. I hid it," Pepper stared at him with hard eyes, "for your own good."

"_Your own good_," Tony mocked. "No, way, Pepper. I take care of myself."

"Do you always take care of yourself this way? Drinking until your body can't handle it?" she asked. She had her hands on her hips and Tony wanted to hit something.

"No one asked you to help. I do my own thing, and no one gets in the way! I don't need your help, I don't need anyone's help. You're here to make sure I get my responsibilities done, not intervene with my personal life." he snapped back at her.

Pepper glared at him right back. "I've been watching you physically destroy yourself all through this month. I can tell when you're hungover, when you've been drinking just a half an hour ago. I felt bad at first, and I still do. I feel sorry that you're too stubborn to let people in, to give a damn about something. You're smart, Tony, there's no denying that. Why don't you put it to good use?"

"Just because a guy's got brains doesn't mean he can magically create a breakthrough that will wipe the whole damn slate clean!"

"So, what's your plan then? Drink, work, drink?" Pepper asked.

"Yep." Tony smirked as he turned his back and walked toward the stairs to his shop. She was right, actually. Why should he deny it?

"You have no idea, do you," Pepper's voice was soft and quiet now. Sentimental. It made him wince. "How I'd like to care, to be your friend, because I don't think you have one. Now I know why."

"And why's that?"

"You don't know how to trust."

"Kudos for figuring that out," Tony told her, still not looking over his shoulder to see her. He can't look at her. "Enjoy your day off."

For a minute or two, they stood, not looking at each other in silence. Tony kept his gaze to the floor, until he finally heard the door shut. Then, he promptly fell to his knees, feeling incredibly dizzy and nauseous. _Don't throw up, _he demanded, _don't you dare throw up. He did. _He hadn't eaten anything in a long while, either, not since lunch yesterday, so he struggled to keep himself upright on his hands and knees as dry heaves wracked his body and nothing came out spare nasty body fluids.

When it passed, he used the coffee table to help him up. Swaying on his feet, he used the walls as guidance. He needed to retreat. And the only place to do that was his workshop. He almost crawled down the stairs. Tony hadn't felt so pathetic in a long time.

No, not a long time. Just before Pepper came into his life. A friend, one friend, and he blew it. He did that a lot, with just about everything. When was he going to suck up his insecurities and let people in?

Probably never.

_You don't know how to trust. _

**Hope you liked! Please review :D Next chapter will be scenes that have strengthened Tony and Pepper's friendship in the past month that led to Pepper finally intervening. **


	3. Friends or Something Like That

**I'm sorry I took so long ;A; I was planning to get this in yesterday. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away the other day, and with that said, I can guess you understand why I didn't really want to write. But, to make it up to ya'll, I wrote a lot of Pepper/Tony friendship scenes. This is probably going to be longest chapter! Special thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! Much appreciated and it really helps me with my muse. 3  
**

**You'll notice this chapter is a little different.  
**

"Pepper" Potts was not a woman to mess with. Every man she'd dated knows this. Her co-workers know this. Even her boss, Tony Stark, billionaire playboy, knew this.

In her first week of being Tony Stark's PA was really bringing her patience to an entirely new level that not even she was aware she could reach. Sure, she's had some sleezy bosses that really pissed her off, snaky comments and everything, but nothing compared to working for Tony Stark.

He wasn't mean. No, he sure as hell wasn't _mean, _but he was defensive, stubborn, and took shit from no one. Except her. He didn't seem to mind her, but that didn't make a difference in his personality. Or, at least, the personality he chose to display to the world and everyone he met. He constantly interrupted her, drank profusely, and made plenty of sexual jokes that almost, _almost, _make her blush. She sometimes had to call him early in the morning only to discover he never went to bed in the first place and couldn't go to any meetings or benefits until he had at least 6 hours of sleep. A normal Tony was one thing, a grumpy Tony was another.

Today was one of those increasingly rare days when Tony was physically and mentally fit enough to actually hold his tongue and "pretend to listen to those stupid suits and get it repeated from her later", as he put it. In reality, Tony captured everything, he just didn't want to act like he does. He relied on "Pepper".

After a week of being called Pepper when she worked from his mansion, it was sticking to her. She'd never appreciated the "Pepper" nickname growing up, as she often was teased with it. Honestly, though, she liked it better than "Virginia" or "Ginny". She was even calling herself "Pepper."

He may have told her that he was going to be here, but he was now 10 minutes late. Then again, his definition of being a little late was 30 minutes into the meeting.

"I'm here!"

Pepper turned, and winced. She knew that type of voice from him. That was a "drunk" voice. Okay, so it wasn't too bad off. She's seen worse. But he _was _about to walk into a board meeting that would determine the status of the company. The CEO being a little tipsy wouldn't make anyone feel comfortable. "Mr. Stark," she said, jaw clenched.

"Pepper? Ah, how nice to see you today!" He was dressed in a traditional suit, black pants and jacket with a red tie. However, his hair was mussed and his tie was out of place. There was a faint whiff of alcohol on his breath when he spoke. "I told you I'd come."

"I was hoping you'd come sober," she said coolly. She began retying his tie and took a tiny comb out her pocket and tried to tame his unruly hair. "Usually the board appreciates that."

"I don't know what you mean, Pepper," he blinked at her innocently.

"Mr. Stark."

"Fine. I don't know what you mean, _Ms. Potts_," he rolled his eyes. "I'm completely, utterly sober."

"Is that so?"

"That is so." Tony grinned a little too broadly. Pepper glared at him, and his smile disappeared. "Sorry."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Take this breath mint and try to keep your mouth shut," she told him, handing him a mint, "let me do the talking."

"If you wanted to do all the talking for me, why do make me go to these things?" Another glare from his assistant snapped his mouth shut.

"All right, let's go," Pepper smiled tightly at him, turning on her heels and quickly walking to the conference room doors. Before she entered, a hand caught her arm.

"Ms. Potts?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Thanks."

* * *

On the second week of being Tony Stark's PA, Pepper realized that Tony wasn't as selfish and anti-social as she had originally thought.

She came to the Stark Tower in New York City feeling like she could just about burst. The day before, she'd been on the phone with her mother. Her parents lived in North Carolina, and she hadn't spoken to them in years.

So when she picked up the phone only to have her mother demand to know what was going on in her life, if she was romantically involved at all, and what she was doing, she could safely say that she was pissed. The woman had barely said hello, although she was never one for small talk.

Pepper had told her mother about her new job nevertheless, and she immediately regretted it. That had deserved her a lecture about how she shouldn't dare venture into the shark pool of the business career, how someone like Tony Stark wouldn't look good on later job applications if she couldn't handle him, and something about how he doesn't know "how to keep it in his pants".

So yes, she wasn't pleased.

She was sure Tony had caught drift of it by his raised eyebrows and lack of snarky remarks. They worked in silence in his office.

And then her phone rang. She picked it up and wouldn't you know it, it was her mother again. She flipped open her phone and put it to her ear, "Hello?"

"_Virginia? Its your father."_

She relaxed a little. "Hi, Dad."

"_Listen, um, there something you should know. About last night with your mother-"_

"Please don't make excuses for her." The last thing Pepper wanted was yet another fight with one of her parents, especially in front of her boss.

"_I'm not." _her father said. "_Listen to me. Your mother…she's very sick._"

Pepper felt her heart drop to her stomach. "With what?"

"_Cancer. A tumor in her brain_."

"Oh, God," her voice cracked on the end. She could feel Tony's eyes peering at her in concern. "Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry."

"_It's okay, Virginia. You know your mother, she doesn't want to admit weakness. A lot like you._" there a smile to his voice.

"What can I do?"

"_Nothing right now. But why don't you visit for a few days? She still has time, you know. A few years even. We can talk about this more_." her father's soothing voice did nothing to help the guilt she was feeling.

"O-okay. I have to see if I can schedule a few days off. But I'll be there. I promise."

"_I'll see you soon, Ginny. I love you." _

"Love you too," she said tightly, and heard the click that ended the call. She threw the phone into her bag and buried her face into her hands, not caring about Tony.

"Ms. Potts?"

"Its nothing, I'm fine."

"You're about as convincing as me when you say that." Tony's usual sarcastic tone was absent, instead there was a gentleness there she hadn't heard before. "What happened? Something with your family?"

She nodded, and didn't protest at Tony's hand on her shoulder. "My mother."

"She sick?"

"Brain tumor."

Tony sucked in a breath. "I suppose you'll want to take a quick vacation?" he asked after a moment's pause.

"You can't stop me. If you say no, then I don't care if I lose my job, I'm not about to screw this up with my parents when-"

"Pepper, its okay."

She blinked at him. "You won't mind? In the job application-"

"You think I actually give a damn about what the job application says? I'm your boss, after all, should I be able to bend the rules?" he didn't wait for her answer. "I'll have a plane scheduled for tomorrow morning, 8 AM sharp, and I'll have a driver get you to your second apartment downtown so you can pack."

"I can't ask you to do that for me, Mr. Stark."

"Watch me. Its not like I can't afford it."

"Why are you doing this, anyway?"

"Because I can." Tony said, clearly not going to give away any more information. "Give me those files, won't you? I gotta finish up the work you should be doing."

She offered them, but he motioned for her to put them on the desk, ignoring her confused look. "Thank you, Mr. Stark,"

"You're welcome. Now scram, Miss Potts."

* * *

On the third week of her job as Tony Stark's PA, Pepper got a look into Tony's personal life. It was accident, as she keeps telling herself. They'd agreed on the first day to keep their lives as private as possible since they wanted to stay friends and stick with the boss-assistant relationship. But things slip.

Those slips end up becoming confessions if she'd learned how to back off.

It was during the afternoon on a Monday, a quiet one compared to the last Monday. She was at the mansion, sitting on the couch and files splayed on the large coffee table. Tony was probably in the workshop, working on whatever he does. It was a pretty typical day.

Until she heard a crash. She almost chose to ignore it. Maybe she should have, but she went downstairs anyway. The shop was cluttered more than usual. Parts and scraps lay everywhere in disorder. When she entered the passcode to let her in, Tony didn't look up from his hunched position on the metal table. She could tell he was upset by poster of his shoulders, and for a second she debated to just let him cool off and ask him about it later.

Instead, she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Tony?"

He flinched, but turned around to face her. His eyes were filled with rage, making his dark brown eyes almost black. Nothing seemed to faze Tony, so it must be pretty big. "I hate them."

"Who?"

"The press. The gossip assholes. All of them." he said bitterly. His gaze went back to the corner where a TV was on a news channel. She took the remote that lay on the table and pressed the volume button.

"…_as more and more authorities figures claim that they'll be looking into it, Bob Davis's report that the supposed accident of multi-millionaire genius of the 20__th__ century, Howard Stark, and his wife Maria, was not really an accident. As a closed case as of nearly 6 years, most people who are against the report are confident that this won't pursue very long. However, now some are saying through various websites and conversations that it was really Anthony Edward Stark, the heir to Stark Industries…"_

Pepper felt her heart tug a little. She almost could feel Tony brimming with anger beside her. She didn't dare look at him, afraid he would break.

"…_explaining the increased rebellious behavior Tony Stark has been displaying over the years, even after he successfully became CEO at the age of 21, thanks to his genius mind and Obediah Stane, the current Presi-"_

_SMASH. _

Pepper jumped a little as the screen was suddenly impaled by a wrench, sparks sputtering. She closed her eyes and shook her head, damning whoever this Bob Davis character was. It didn't take a genius to know that Tony did _not _like to talk about his parents. However, when he did, it was never disrespectfully. He went on and on a lot about how great a man Howard was. She noticed, that he never spoke of him as a father, and she guessed that was why Tony felt like that.

She learned from Obediah that Tony was very close to his mother, and that he and Howard had been locked into an endless game of outwit. Pepper herself had a complicated relationship with her parents, who wanted her to become a simple wife with children and a nice man. But they managed enough. She couldn't imagine being accused of killing her parents.

"Tony, I-"

"I guess I asked for it. I mean, back then, no one suspected poor little teenage Tony at boarding school to be part of anything like that. But Tony now…" he shook his head and slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit."

"This isn't going to hold, Tony. They did a very thorough investigation after the accident, didn't they? Sounds like that someone is just looking for attention, and cornered you into it." Pepper said.

Tony scowled. "Except now he has me trapped. I don't know how I'm suppose to soothe their suspicions, because I've lost my reliability! And he probably fucking knows that too!"

Pepper stayed quiet, letting him collect his thoughts for a minute.

He slouched suddenly. "I never hated him. Disliked him sometimes, maybe, but don't we all? I wanted to impress him. More than anything, all my life. And when he died…when I got the damn phone call…I lost that chance. It kills me."

"Why don't you tell the press that?"

Tony glared at her hotly. "I'll look sentimental."

"You'll look sincere. Its like you say, the press always gets roped in to that." Pepper told him.

"I don't want to."

"Do you have a choice, other than forgetting it ever happened? Ignoring it?"

"Plan B sounds good."

"Tony-"

"Fine. I'll do it. Schedule a press conference for me at noon tomorrow?"

"Right away Mr. Stark."

* * *

In the fourth week of being Tony Stark's PA _and _semi_-_friend, Pepper discovered that he is far from okay.

She decided that since the weekend was about to start and she knew he wouldn't mind her dropping some folders off so that he could look them over, she didn't bother getting fancy with her clothes and instead threw on her best sneakers and drove over herself to Tony's mansion in Malibu.

She knew the way in, and found that the lights were dim but still on, giving her a sign that Tony was probably locked into his workshop. Sighing, she made her way downstairs and pressed the intercom button. "Tony, its Pepper."

No response. No loud music, either, though, making her worry a little.

"Answer or I'm coming in myself." she threatened. He hated her coming in without asking. She guessed it was hyper vigilance issues.

Still nothing. Shrugging, she opened the door. When she saw Tony sprawled on the linoleum floor, her opinions on him changed in that moment. No, he was not okay.

Far from it.

**It's a little different, I know. But I hope you liked it anyway. In case you couldn't tell, the fourth part leads to the beginning to last chapter. I put this in Pepper's POV to get insight of what she now felt with Tony. I ship Pepperony, don't get me wrong, but I want to stick with the facts of the movies, so only friendship here! Probably going to be one more chapter. Thanks for reading and Tell me what you think? :D**


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